Insurance Advice For Cyclists

Insurance for cyclists takes on many different shapes and forms. Most types
of insurance a cyclist have will protect the rider, but other types of
insurance will protect you if you injure someone (like a pedestrian) in
a cycling crash.

No Fault Claims-

No-Fault is not what it sounds like. No-Fault refers to Art. 51 of the
New York Insurance Law. It is a system set up to compensate an injured
person whose accident arises out of the "use and operation of a motor
vehicle". This can be a driver, passenger, pedestrian, or cyclist.
If a crash involves a car, truck, or bus, then that vehicle's no-fault
coverage will be responsible to pay for all "reasonable and necessary
medical expenses" related to the accident, as well as your lost wages.
If you are involved in a crash, you need to file a no-fault application
within 30 days of the accident with that vehicle's insurance company,
or your claim can be denied. Sometimes, that time can be extended for
good cause, such as long-term hospitalization or disability.

No-Fault is also known as Mandatory Personal Injury Protection (PIP). The
endorsement contained in all New York state-issued automobile policies
contains four conditions precedent to eligibility for no-fault benefits.
The four conditions precedent are: (1) the eligible injured person must
provide written notice of the accident to the insurer within 30 days after
the accident; (2) the assignee medical provider must submit the bill for
medical services to the insurer within 45 days after the services are
rendered to the assignor; (3) the eligible injured person must submit
to medical examinations by physicians selected by the insurer and (4)
the eligible injured person or that person's assignee (medical provider)
must submit to examinations under oath (EUOs), as the insurer may reasonably require.

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Protection (SUM)

This one is trickier. In New York State, the minimum automobile liability
coverage that a car can have is $25,000 per occurrence or $50,000 per
incident, which is what we call a 25/50 policy. That means that if a driver
has a 25/50 policy, no one person can collect more than $25,000.00, despite
the most horrific of injuries. Taxi cabs and delivery vehicles carry $100,000/$300,000
in coverage. Some people and companies have even more coverage; it all
depends upon that individual's policy and the amount of liability
coverage they purchased. However, if you are in a very serious bicycle
crash, it may not matter what coverage the other person has. $25,000,
$50,000, or even $100,000 may not be able to cover your medical expenses,
lost wages, damage to your bicycle, or other costs. In this case, we may
be able to find other ways to get you the compensation you deserve.

So what is SUM coverage (underinsurance)?

If
you own a car, or someone in your household does, and you are involved in
a crash where your injuries exceed the coverage of the vehicle that hit you,
you can make a claim back against
your own auto policy. In fact, this coverage protects anyone who resides in your
household, such as a spouse or child. To trigger the coverage in New York,
the other vehicle's insurance must be less than your SUM coverage.
So if you are hit by a car with a $25,000 policy and you have $100,000.00
in SUM coverage on your auto policy, you have available to you $75,000.00
in SUM protection. The limits all depend upon what you purchase, but must
equal your liability coverage, at least. In New York, once you purchase
your liability coverage, which is costly, your SUM endorsement is relatively
cheap, especially in consideration of its benefits. If you cycle in New
York, and you can afford it, max out your SUM coverage. I have represented
some seriously injured cyclists who could only collect from the defendants'
limited policies. If you think you have a SUM claim, contact a lawyer
who is familiar with this area of law. They are very tricky claims that
not all "personal injury lawyers" know how to handle.

What is Uninsured coverage

Again, if you own a car and you are hit by someone who has
NO insurance, you or a member of your household can make a claim against
your auto policy's Uninsured Motorist Protection to the full extent
of its coverage. The coverage all depends upon what you purchase, and
must be equal to the liability coverage of your policy. Everyone in New
York State has a mandatory 25/50 in uninsured motorist coverage.

MVAIC Claims-

The Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation
(MVAIC) was created to pay benefits to automobile accident victims who were injured
by uninsured vehicles. Filing a claim through MVAIC is a method to make
a recovery if you are involved in an accident and neither you, nor anyone
in your household, owned a vehicle at the time. MVAIC also applies if
coverage is denied or disclaimed, the accident was a hit and run, involved
a stolen vehicle, or the owner did not give the driver permission to use
the car (denial of permissive use). It is imperative that you
Report the Accident with 24 hours, or as soon as reasonably possible, or you may not be able to make an
MVIAC claim, especially if it is a "hit and run" accident. If
you need to make a MVAIC claim, we highly suggest that you contact a lawyer,
as the rules involved in the claims process are highly technical and you
need court approval to start a lawsuit against MVIAC.

Liability Coverage-

What if you cause a crash and injure another cyclist or pedestrian? A liability
policy will help protect you. The most common form of liability insurance
for cyclists is a Home Owners or Renters policy. Most of these policies
provide protection for you and members of your household if you are involved
in a cycle crash and injure another person. If you are found to responsible
for the crash, your Home Owners or Rental Insurance Coverage will defend
(hire a lawyer for you) and indemnify for (pay the claim) you. Just recently
here in New York, a lawsuit was allowed to proceed in a case where a 4
year old struck an elderly woman, while she was riding on her bike. The
court allowed the claim to proceed against the child and her parents (
http://www.dnainfo.com/20101029/midtown/4yearolds-sued-after-midtown-bicycle-accident). It appears that thankfully for those parents, their Home Owners or Renters
Insurance paid for their lawyer, and will pay any settlement or verdict
arising out of the accident. This insurance benefits someone you may have
injured, and also protects you if you get sued. For more on Umbrella's
Policies, read this great article on
Umbrella Coverage, which we recently found in the New York Times.

This page is a brief outline of some of the insurance needs and issues
cyclists and bikers in New York may face when involved in a crash. For
more information,
contact us at 1-866-Flanzig or emails us at info@NewYorkBikeLawyers.com

Attorney Advertising pursuant to New York RPC 7.1: Prior results do not
guarantee a similar outcome.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
Address: 323 Willis Avenue, Mineola, NY 11501/ New York City,NY, Queens, NY (866)
352-6944 NYC Bike Crash lawyers and Dooring attorneys in New York.